Photo: His Excellency Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE minister of state and Group CEO, ADNOC.

Abu Dhabi -- The global oil and gas will be a critical enabler of economic growth in the 4th Industrial Age, according to His Excellency Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE minister of state and group CEO of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC).

Delivering the opening keynote address, today, at the Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference (ADIPEC), one of the world’s leading oil and gas conferences and exhibitions, H.E. Dr. Al Jaber said the world is on the verge of an era of unprecedented prosperity. This will be driven, he said, by rapid advances in technology and a global middle class, which will grow to five billion people by 2030, creating greater demand for energy and products derived from oil and gas.

“We are at the cusp of a new age of opportunity for our industry, an era in which digital innovation is delivering unprecedented levels of progress,” H.E. Dr. Al Jaber told the audience of government ministers, industry CEOs, policymakers and decision makers. “This era, known as the 4th Industrial Age, is creating a paradigm shift in global growth and driving demand for our products. Our industry must step up to enable this massive step-change in global development.

H.E. Dr. Al Jaber said ADNOC recognizes that to fulfill the mission of Oil and Gas 4.0, it must leverage all its resources, its partnerships and, in particular, the latest technologies, if it is to continue to thrive and deliver on the ambitious strategic objectives of its 2030 smart growth strategy.

“All this is only the start of a new era at ADNOC,” he said, adding that ADNOC is continuing to put in place the building blocks that would allow it to seize the opportunities created by Oil and Gas 4.0, emphasizing the strategic oil and gas announcements, made recently by Abu Dhabi’s Supreme Petroleum Council (SPC), which will see ADNOC increase its oil production capacity to 4 MMbpd by 2020 – and to 5 MMbpd by 2030 – to meet growing global demand. In addition, ADNOC will develop its vast untapped gas resources.

“As we set out to meet these ambitious goals, we will access our undeveloped reservoirs, tap into our gas caps and further capitalize on our sour gas. Today, we are able to make this happen by thinking outside the box, leveraging technology and reframing our business model. This has finally unlocked the commercial formula that will enable the UAE to attain self-sufficiency and transition to becoming a potential net exporter of natural gas.” H.E. Dr. Al Jaber said. “We are also taking steps, never taken before, to realize our comprehensive gas strategy.

“For the first time, we will jointly develop our unconventional fields in a concession partnership with Total. In addition, our strategy will ensure we remain a reliable supplier of LNG well into the future.”

H.E. Dr. Sultan added, “While advances in technology are impacting every industry, it is time for us to focus our attention on how it can advance our industry,” H.E. Dr. Al Jaber said. “At ADNOC, we believe technology can enhance our operational efficiency, drive performance, maximize profitability and empower our people.”

ADNOC, he said, is applying artificial intelligence and the science of predictive analytics to significantly reduce maintenance costs and building out its state-of-the-art Panorama Digital Command Center to mine for, monitor and measure terabytes of information across its operations. And yet, ADNOC is only scratching the surface of how technology can transform its potential, he declared.

“Our ambition is to extend technology’s power across our entire value chain from drilling platforms to trading platforms,” H.E. Dr. Al Jaber said. “By embedding innovation into every aspect of our business, we are determined to make ADNOC the destination of choice for a highly skilled, digitally native workforce and a home for the best and the brightest of our young people.”

H.E. Dr. Al Jaber also emphasized the importance of ADNOC’s downstream expansion. “This expansion capitalizes on our high-grade feedstock, proximity to growth markets and best-in-class logistics to create an integrated plug and play ecosystem, an ecosystem where I invite partners to invest and grow alongside ADNOC as we continue on our journey to diversify the UAE’s economy, enable in-country value and support GDP growth,” he said.

Hosting more than 80 ministers, CEOs, and global oil and gas business leaders as speakers, ADIPEC has convened the companies, decision- and policy-makers who shape the future of oil and gas supply, for four days of focused business, dialogue and knowledge-transfer that addresses today’s energy challenges and defines tomorrow’s hydrocarbon landscape.

ADIPEC’s international technical and strategic conference spans 200 sessions, with 980 expert speakers and over 10,400 delegates. The technical conference program, organized in collaboration with the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE), sets the international standard for the exchange of best-practice and operational excellence in the world of energy, with all technical abstract submissions put through a rigorous evaluation process by the technical program committee. Sessions cover upstream, midstream and downstream sectors, including specialized program such as offshore and marine.

Alongside the conference are the landmark ADIPEC exhibition areas, underpinning the event’s status as a premier showcase for suppliers and customers across the oil and gas industry. For 2018, ADIPEC has attracted more than 2,200 exhibiting companies, including 38 National Oil Companies and International Oil Companies, and 30 international country pavilions.